Suresh Prabhu with President Pranab Mukherjee after taking oath as Cabinet Minister (Press Trust of India)
Suresh Prabhu has been made a cabinet minister, a move that has fuelled the tension between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, former allies who have been awkwardly trying to reunite. Mr Prabhu has taken over as Railways Minister.
On Sunday morning, Mr Prabhu resigned from the Shiv Sena and joined the BJP. Ahead of that switch, Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray had reportedly made it clear that if Mr Prabhu were to find a spot in the cabinet, his party would not consider it a part of the "quota" it is entitled to as a member of the Prime Minister's coalition government.
The Shiv Sena has been waiting to hear for weeks about whether and how it will join the BJP's new government in Maharashtra. The Sena held a meeting in Mumbai last evening, after which party chief Uddhav Thackeray said they will serve as the opposition in Maharashtra if the BJP accepts support from Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party or NCP.
Mr Prabhu, a qualified Chartered Accountant, returns to the Union Cabinet after having served in the government of Atal Behari Vajpayee.
During Prime Minister Vajpayee's tenure from 1998 to 2004, Mr Prabhu served as Industry Minister, Minister of Environment and Forests, Minister of Fertilizers & Chemicals, Power, and Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises.
His stint as Power Minister won him praise for efficient administration of a key government department.
The 61-year-old from Maharashtra has been given a series of major posts by the union government: he was made head of an important advistory committee that focuses on power and coal; for next week's G-20 summit in Australia, he was appointed the PM's
'sherpa' , which means he represents Mr Modi in preparations for and talks ahead of the summit.
Last year, when Mr Modi was still Chief Minister of Gujarat, the Wharton Business School controversially revoked its invitation to him for a keynote address via video conference for an event in the US. A section of students and professors had protested against Mr Modi's scheduled speech, linking the politician to human rights violations in the Gujarat riots of 2002.
In a show of support, Mr Prabhu pulled out of the event.